Scratches

When you have kittens you have to expect a few scratches.  The good thing is that they aren't scratching the furniture, the bad thing is they are accidentally scratching me.  Not once have they mean harm, but their little claws are so sharp, they don't know how sharp they are.  I have scratches on my chest, my stomach, my arms, and my legs.  If you don't watch her, Lucy will climb up your pants leg because she wants to be held.  Edith just goes everywhere either running full speed or hopping around.

Another thing, I have to put them away if I want to jack off.  They pounce on anything that moves.  It's worth it though.  The kittens are so fun to watch. Seeing them jump and play and run around.

To Be, Or Not To Be

To be, or not to be hairy is not the question I was asking yesterday.  I was however, trying to make a statement about being happy with the bodies we have and being content with nature.  Just because someone, such as JiEL said in the comments, being naturally hairless is "not less manly."  Running my hands over a smooth chest is just as luxurious to me as a hairy one.  I remember a particular dancer at a gay bar in Houston that was shaved, but was letting his hair grow to a stubble.  I remember being incredibly turned on by that "sandpaper sensation."  The tactile sensation of hairy, hairless, or somewhere in between does not, however, mean that there is not a aesthetic pleasure to seeing a man in all his natural beauty, hairless or not.  

Of course, all of this is a matter of personal taste, and when it comes down to it, I completely agree with Damien, who wrote "So I guess I mostly like the person beneath the skin, the skin beneath the hair, the hair beneath the shirt."  I also agree with Bodhisbuddy who said that his tastes have changed.  As a preteen through early twenties, I too preferred as little body hair as possible on a man. As I grew older, I began to appreciate well groomed bodies with hair, and now I'm to the point where hairless looks much less appealing.  Though my tastes do occasionally change, I rarely look for the very hairy.  It just doesn't appeal to me that much.

I also agree with Damien that Nick Jonas is getting too much attention over these photos.  Me personally,  I find his ass the most appealing thing about him, then again, I'm an ass man, so that kind of figures I'd find his attractive.  It's a nice round bubble butt.  

I also agree that there is a double standard when it comes to male and female celebrities, especially those who were child stars/wholesome Disney personalities.  However, and I may be adding to this double standard, but I believe that Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas took two different paths when they decided to break away from their squeaky clean personas.  Miley appeared to eschew all the values that she previously seemed to embrace.  Nick Jonas may be making racier photos (and not all people, were upset over Miley's racy behavior) and he may have taken off his purity ring, but he still seems to have kept some core values.  "This is a real growth in me and not something [wearing a purity ring] I'm doing anymore. But I've got my set of values, things that are important to me now at this point in my life and that's all that matters," said Jonas in a recent interview.  "I've had an incredibly intense journey with faith and religion and my own growth. My belief in God is still very strong and important to me as a person and I think that's all that should matter," he continued. "I grew up in a church environment and still have love for the church."

So i think the photos and the publicity have brought to light a few interesting things about our culture.  I do believe that the lack of outcry is a reflection of the sexism still prevalent in our society. As Damien out it "Boys will be boys but girls should be ladies!"  Also, the little bit of hair he shows in the mildly revealing photographs has at least raised the question of manscaping or not.  I honestly think it makes for some interesting conversations, though not many are talking about it in those terms.

Thank you all for your comments.  I don't often answer comments directly, but know that I read every one of them.  Please keep commenting and keep the conversation going.

Hair Today, NOT Gone Tomorrow

Nick Jonas has been all over the internet recently.  He has spent the better part of the last month promoting his new single, "Jealous," and his upcoming DirecTV series, Kingdom, with a media tour that has included interviews with several gay publications and some stops at gay bars.  The attention seemed  to begin when Jonas showed off his abs at a gay bar, engaged in some flirting with the patrons and has spent the last few weeks going out of his way to prove that his affinity for his gay fans is more than a marketing strategy.

The viral internet attention seemed to hit a high point last week (his new show premieres tonight) when his photo shoot in Flaunt magazine became public.  The photo shoot included several shots inspired by Marky Mark's iconic 1992 Calvin Klein underwear campaign.

I have to agree with Noah Michelson, the Executive Editor of Gay Voices at The Huffington Post, when he said that the Calvin Klein-esque photos were "not the most interesting thing to come out of the Flaunt shoot."  The photo above however is very interesting.  It shows something we don't often get to see in media: body hair.  There is an incredibly sexy small patch of hair fanning out across Jonas' lower back and creeping down his butt cleavage.

There is so much attention paid to smooth male bodies that you have to look hard for a natural look.  It's why one of my favorite blogs is SteveXS's blog All Natural & More, (NSFW) dedicated to "Appreciating Maleness In Its Natural State Plus Other Things We Like."  The appreciation of body hair, especially when it's all natural, comes and goes in our culture.  Look at most gay porn and the bodies are often very smooth, and the model may or may not even have public hair.  On mainstream shows, you never see a full chest of manly hair like Magnum, P.I. anymore.  The bodies are hairless.

And when we do see body hair in magazines or movies, it's always controlled and coiffed and constrained to the chest and stomach. Often it's a source of comedy and the person is made fun of for being overly hairy.  If you look for the gay scene with hairy men, you have to look to bears, cubs, or otters (all animal inspired names).  In our culture, to be hairy seems to mean that the person is animalistic or a Neanderthal with lower intelligence.  Even many of the "otters" are trimmed, sometimes severely.  Whereas, we do occasionally see limited chest or tummy hair, but hairy backs and asses are even bigger jokes. If you have one (and many, many men do), you can't be the leading man; you're someone's gross dad or lecherous bad date. A sentiment that I wholly disagree with.  I know he has a bad rap today, but I will never forget seeing Mel Gibson's hairy butt in "Bird on a Wire" when I was a teenager.  It left a hard wired memory in my mind, even if I later found out it was a "stunt butt," which actually makes it better now.  I didn't pay attention to the reaction to Gibson's stunt butt, I was too busy staring at that glimpse I was given, but since 1990 when that movie came out, fewer and fewer men are seen with hairy bodies.

Nick Jonas showing his hairy butt is definitely a breakthrough.  Though I was never a fan of the Jonas Brothers, or really even Nick Jonas, I can certainly appreciate his once shapely bubble butt.  It's a breakthrough because Jonas is a 22-year-old celebrity who many consider a "heartthrob."  Jonas may be showing the hair on his lower back to prove to people that he is now a man and no longer a teenager, dare I say, a kid.  He's all grown up and he has a gritty grown-up television show.  But it can also be a sign of more.

I've based most of this article on the one mentioned above by Noah Michelson (however, I've added many of my own thoughts as well), but I want to end with Michelson's explanation of why he write an article asking "Why Isn't Anyone Talking About Nick Jonas' Hairy Ass?"  This is what Michelson wrote in his blog post on HuffPost Gay Voices:

I can already see the comments section of this blog post filling up with responses like "Who cares?" and "Why is this news?" And you're right: This isn't "news." No one else even seems to be thinking, much less writing, about this photo. But before you write me off as just another garden-variety perv (which is totally valid most of the time), I hope you'll consider how important visibility is for creating change. 

As more and more queer people come out and we gain more and more "possibility models" (as Laverne Cox has so eloquently put it) in the media, we feel more permission to be exactly who we are, and I believe the same is true for body image. Imagine being a 22-year-old guy and feeling ashamed about your own hairy back or hairy ass and seeing that image. Or imagine being an 18-year-old young woman and seeing that photo and having to readjust your idea of what sexy is. Even in queer culture, with our bears and otters and cubs and wolves, we're no stranger to shaming bodies -- our own and each other's -- and tiny, but visible, moments like this one are important for us too. 

I'm not claiming that this photo is some kind of furry panacea for all that ails us. Of course Nick Jonas' body conforms to (or surpasses) societal norms in many ways, and seeing it could inspire body shaming or set unrealistic expectations for some people. I'm also not claiming that men shouldn't shave or wax or laser their bodies if that's what they prefer, but I would like to at least raise the question of why hairlessness is the preference for so many of us and address the stigma that often comes with being hairy. And let's face it: Jonas isn't exactly hirsute, but I believe there is something radical about that patch of hair -- however small, however innocent -- climbing out of his jeans in the pages of Flaunt. And I think it's worth pointing out and talking about, because this is how our culture begins to change -- one image at a time -- and because I want to celebrate progress -- however modest -- wherever I find it, even (especially?) if it's in Nick Jonas' hairy ass crack.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Michelson.  Maybe it will inspire some people to look a little differently at what they view as sexy.  Personally, I think that men shave for two reasons. First, they trim their crotch area because they've been told it makes their penis look bigger (and a few other sexually misinformed reasons), when in fact, when it's too trimmed it just looks odd.  Second, I believe men do so to make themselves look younger.  I teach a lot of teenage guys, and I often hear mixed feelings about body hair.  Some are proud of their body hair because it means they are becoming a "man."  Others shave for various reasons: trying to make their dick look bigger, because their girlfriend asked them to, because they see it in the media, etc.  They are forming opinions and maybe with some positive images of natural body hair, no matter how insignificant, they will see that it's ok to be natural.

The picture below is of the same model: unshaved and shaved.  Which so you prefer?

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

By Robbie Robertson 

Virgil Kane is the name

And I served on the Danville train

'Till Stoneman's cavalry came

And tore up the tracks again

In the winter of '65

We were hungry, just barely alive

By May the 10th, Richmond had fell

It's a time I remember, oh so well

The night they drove old Dixie down

And the bells were ringing

The night they drove old Dixie down

And the people were singing

They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

Back with my wife in Tennessee

When one day she called to me

"Virgil, quick, come see,

There goes Robert E. Lee!"

Now, I don't mind chopping wood

And I don't care if the money's no good

You take what you need

And you leave the rest

But they should never

Have taken the very best

The night they drove old Dixie down

And the bells were ringing

The night they drove old Dixie down

And all the people were singing

They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

Like my father before me

I will work the land

And like my brother above me

Who took a rebel stand

He was just 18, proud and brave

But a Yankee laid him in his grave

I swear by the mud below my feet

You can't raise a Kane back up

When he's in defeat

The night they drove old Dixie down

And the bells were ringing

The night they drove old Dixie down

And all the people were singing

They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

The night they drove old Dixie down

And all the bells were ringing

The night they drove old Dixie down

And the people were singing

They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

Robbie Robertson wrote this song, which is about the American Civil War - "Dixie" is a term indicating the old American South, and was defeated by the Union army. Robertson came up with the music for this song, and then got the idea for the lyrics when he thought about the saying "The South will rise again," which he heard the first time he visited the South. This led him to research the Civil War. 

The song's lyric refers to conditions in the Southern states in the winter of early 1865 ("We were hungry / Just barely alive"); the Confederate states are starving and defeated. Reference is made to the date May 10, 1865, by which time the Confederate capital of Richmond had long since fallen (in April); May 10 marked the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the definitive end of the Confederacy.

I decided to choose this song because of the Supreme Court turned away appeals Monday from five states seeking to prohibit same-sex marriages, paving the way for an immediate expansion of gay and lesbian unions.  By refusing to hear the appeals, the Supreme Court is driving Old Dixie down.  Yesterday's decision only effects the southern state of Virginia, plus four northern states (though Oklahoma can be considered either).

The justices on Monday did not comment in rejecting the appeals from Wisconsin, Indiana (both Seventh Circuit), Oklahoma, Utah (both Tenth Circuit), and Virginia (Fourth Circuit).   The First, Second, and Third Circuits are made up of states with marriage equality already in force.

The court's order immediately ends delays on marriage in those states. Couples in six other states — Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming — should be able to get married in short order. Those states would be bound by the same appellate rulings that were put on hold pending the Supreme Court's review.

That would make same-sex marriage legal in 30 states and the District of Columbia.  No other state cases were currently pending with the high court, but the justices stopped short of resolving for now the question of same-sex marriage nationwide.

Two other appeals courts, in Cincinnati and San Francisco, could issue decisions any time in same-sex marriage cases. Judges in the Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit who are weighing pro-gay marriage rulings in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, appeared more likely to rule in favor of state bans than did the Ninth Circuit judges in San Francisco, who are considering Idaho and Nevada restrictions on marriage.  This would leave only the Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits without rulings on marriage equality, though cases are making their way through the courts in these Circuits.

Experts and advocates on both sides of the issue believed the justices would step in and decide gay marriage cases this term.  However, the justices sidestepped the issue for now.  Advocates believe that the justices have an obligation to settle an issue of such national importance, not abdicate that responsibility to lower court judges. Opting out of hearing the cases leaves those lower court rulings in place, but it leaves twenty states in a state of limbo.

It takes just four of the nine justices to vote to hear a case, but it takes a majority of at least five for an eventual ruling. Monday's opaque order did not indicate how the justices voted on whether to hear the appeals.  Of there is a dispute with the Sixth Circuit ruling against marriage equality, then the Supreme Court will likely be forced to hear the case and make a nationwide decision.  Only time will tell, but the Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits will likely eventually rule along the lines of what is expected of the Sixth Circuit, which will be further reason for the Court to take the case since their will be conflict in the lower courts. The Fifth and Eleventh Circuits are comprised of the Old Confederacy, a section of the country that is staunchly anti-LGBT rights.  Virginia may have been brought down but the fight is not over.   

Edith and Lucy

My heart was broken by the passing of HRH, but I now have two girls who are doing their best to mend a broken heart.  There names are Edith and Lucy, and they are just over two months old.  Edith is slightly younger than Lucy.  They are not sisters but get along very well.  I adopted them Saturday from the Montgomery Humane Society.  I had not been without a cat since 1985, and though many might question getting kittens so soon after Victoria's death, I don't.  There was a void that needed to be filled and these two little ladies are doing their best to fill it.  I saw Edith on the MHS website and fell in love. My cat before Victoria was a calico, named Calico (I was 7 when I got her and wasn't very imaginative).  I've always loved calicos for their sweet disposition, and I knew if I got another cat, it would be a calico. 

Edith is a calico with big ears, long hind legs, and a bobtail.  She has the sweetest disposition and is very loving.  The MHS says she is a desert lynx mix, which is the reason for the large ears, long hind legs, and bobtail.  She's mostly black with an orange face, pink nose and white chest and feet.  The Desert Lynx breed is a combination of exotic looking cats with a dog-like personality. They are supposed to be extremely people loving, loyal, with a sometimes overly affectionate personality. They are known to you when you call them, follow you around , and even enjoy playing fetch with you. She's such a beautiful baby girl and so very sweet.

Lucy is a domestic shorthair diluted tortoiseshell with white.  She's absolutely gorgeous and as soft as can be.  She mostly gray, reminding me of HRH, but with dabs of light orange in her gray and with white feet.  She has what looks like half an orange mustache on her face that when you look at the rest of her face extends up to look like a crescent moon. Diluted torties are gray while most torties are black.  They often don't have white but if their color patterns are not completely separate they are considered tortoiseshell not calico.

They received their names from the animal shelter, and though I considered changing them, the names just fit so well.  Edith is my little Edith Wharton, on of my favorite early 20th century writers.   Wharton combined her insider's view of America's privileged classes with a brilliant, natural wit to write humorous, incisive novels and short stories of social and psychological insight.   My Edith is a little lady just like Wharton was.  I also love Edith Wharton because there was a series of mystery novels by Lev Raphael,  The Nick Hoffman Mysteries, in which the main character Nick Hoffman was an English professor who was an Edith Wharton bibliographer.

Lucy is my little Lucy Ricardo.  Of course you probably know Lucy Ricardo as the red-haired housewife of Ricky Ricardo of I Love Lucy fame, who always gets into trouble and mostly caught by Ricky.  If Lucy is not sleeping she's getting into something and/or exploring.  She has to be watched  a lot.  She's so sweet and funny though, and she loves to cuddle.  She'll already look up at you and meow to be picked up and held.  She also purrs louder than any cat I've ever known.  I wonder:  if I get on to her in Spanish, will she maybe listen more?  I doubt it.  I love that she has an independent spirit.

Neither of the girls like to be alone, so they aren't too independent.  They know they are loved though and they have a wonderful home with me.  I hope they will both have a long and happy life.

Faith Is The Victory

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?1 John 5:1-5

The above verses, which state that faith is the victory, is a well-known verse. But the way in which we often interpret it tends to skew the meaning. Most of us think that we are being told that if we have enough faith we will press through to the victory. In short, we think that it is faith that carries us into any victory.

But wait. Read this verse carefully. It really does not say that our faith carries us into any victory. Rather, this verse states that faith is the victory. Faith itself – the reality of faith in us – that is the victory. Anything else that comes about because of this faith is not the victory, but the faith itself is the victory. We can grow in faith as we follow Christ, and such faith endures suffering. Such faith also sees us through to ultimate victory in Christ.

Consider two apostles, John and Peter. John writes, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.” (1 John 5:2-4)

Peter gave words of blessing to those who were already undergoing suffering, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”(1 Peter 5:10) Why does our faith overcome the world and end in victory? Because the God of all grace will “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish” us until the end. Peter concludes in verse 11, “To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” God can strengthen and restore us because all authority and power belong to Him for all of eternity. There simply is nothing Satan can throw at us that can destroy our faith if our faith is constant and rooted firmly in Christ.

I have watched people go through all kinds of challenges in life and challenges to their faith. Nothing is more devastating than being rejected by your family or faith because of your sexuality. Whether others look at their sexuality as sin or just part of life, it is our live to us, calling us to faith greater than what is in themselves. While no one can control their future, they can respond with faith in the Word, the Lord, and His plan for their lives. This does not relieve our pain, but helps us through their pain and the realization of God's love.

Faith was never designed for us to demonstrate how strong we are or show how much we could accomplish. Faith depends upon and displays God’s strength, giving us assurance that victory will be ours. This victory is not a victory we earn; it’s a victory we enter. It is Christ’s victory. This is why victory is assured if we trust Christ. It’s His victory already won. This is why Paul could write, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)

This first thing that came  to mind when I read the verses above was the song "Faith Is the Victory."  I have always loved this song.  We can overcome the world with our faith.  There is a lot of evil in this world and things may not always go our way, but faith in Christ is our victory.

Faith Is the Victory

Words: John H. Yates, 1891

Music: Ira D. Sankey

Encamped along the hills of light,

Ye Christian soldiers, rise.

And press the battle ere the night

Shall veil the glowing skies.

Against the foe in vales below

Let all our strength be hurled.

Faith is the victory, we know,

That overcomes the world.

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory! 

O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.

His banner over us is love,

Our sword the Word of God.

We tread the road the saints above

With shouts of triumph trod.

By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,

Swept on o’er every field.

The faith by which they conquered death

Is still our shining shield.

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory! 

O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.

On every hand the foe we find

Drawn up in dread array.

Let tents of ease be left behind,

And onward to the fray.

Salvation’s helmet on each head,

With truth all girt about,

The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,

And echo with our shout.

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory! 

O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.

Moment of Zen: Relaxing

How to unwind and relax after a long day at work in four steps.

Step 1:  Loosen tie and unbutton shirt.

Step 2:  Find a comfortable place to rest.

Step 3:  Pull up something interesting on the Internet.

Step 4:  Do what feels natural.

Educational Pun

Grading

There is one thing that I truly hate about teaching: grading.  Students always want to know if you've graded their test, and my usual nap swear is that I'm working on it.  Grading is one thing that is a constant in the teaching profession.  It really doesn't matter if you teach college or high school, you still have to grade.  I have a large stack that needs to be graded right now.  I even brought it home to grade, and I despise bringing home work.  By the end of the day, I can't stand to look at another paper.  I especially find it exasperating when I've said something many times in class and the students stills don't know it.  Nothing drives me insane quicker than to spend time preparing for class, doing my best to make things interesting, and the students just don't care.  

Apathy is the ugliest disease in America.  I think seriously think that apathy will be the downfall of America.  Students, and you see it in their parents too, want to be told how to think and what to think.  The problem is that they listen to the wrong people.  If they'd only listen to me, this world would be a better place.  Haha!

Seriously, though, it is frightening how little students care these days.  It's scary how little respect they have for anything or anybody.  It worries me that America's youth want to only do the minimum.  So few of them have the desire to be better, just average at best.

More and more, I've been thinking that I am just not cut out to teach high school.  I just don't have the patience or the energy.  I much prefer to teach college, but so few jobs are out there and so many applicants vying for the same job.  The whole thing becomes discouraging.

Will They, Or Won't They?

The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court met behind closed doors on Monday to consider whether they should take up the hotly contested question of whether states can ban gay marriage.

The court has seven cases pending before it concerning bans in five states: Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Indiana. If the court agrees to take one or more of the cases it has the chance to rule when, if ever, gay men and women in the 31 states that now bar them from marrying could get marriage licenses.

An announcement on whether the court will hear the same-sex marriage dispute could come later this week. But given the weight of the controversy and that the justices only in recent weeks received the petitions, an announcement could come at a later point. The court officially reconvenes next Monday for its new term, which runs until the end of June.

The justices are due to discuss the cases as they weigh hundreds of petitions that have piled up during the court's summer recess. The discussion is private. The court takes a case if four or more of the nine justices vote to hear it.

Gay marriage is legal in 19 of the 50 U.S. states. Judges in 16 other states have issued pro-gay marriage rulings, most of which have struck down bans. The bans have remained intact while litigation continues.

Supporters of gay marriage say the bans violate the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal treatment under the law.

State officials defending the bans counter that the Constitution does not dictate how states should define marriage and that there is no deeply rooted legal tradition that supports a right to gay marriage.

Although all seven cases raise the key question of whether states can ban gay marriage, they are all slightly different. If the court does decide to consider the issue, it could take one case or several.

The court could also decide to take no action on the cases at this stage. If the court were to decline to take them, appeals court rulings that struck down the bans would go into effect and other bans in certain states would likely fall as a result, but there would be no national ruling.

Across the country, a wave of court rulings favored arguments for gay marriage, prompted by the Supreme Court's 2013 decision in U.S. v. Windsor. In that case, the justices struck down a key part of a law called the Defense of Marriage Act that restricted the definition of marriage to heterosexual couples for the purposes of federal benefits.

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear at least one of the pending cases, oral arguments would be heard early next year and a ruling would come by the end of June. Additional lawsuits testing other state bans are also in the pipeline.

From :

Supreme Court Meets To Consider Taking Gay Marriage Cases. By Lawrence Hurley

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5900122?ir=Gay%20Voices